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Earlier this week I was reading about Hassan-i Sabbah and stumbled upon an interesting, relevant factoid. Hassan-i Sabbah's militant group was known for taking
by v8xi 3y ago
Earlier this week I was reading about Hassan-i Sabbah and stumbled upon an interesting, relevant factoid.
Hassan-i Sabbah's militant group was known for taking drugs (hashish) as well as the targeted murdering (assassinations) of key figures during the Crusades. So they were referred to as hashishins (arabic for hashish-smokers) which was eventually turned into assassins and thats where the term comes from.
- Obscurity4340 3y agoVery fun facts :)
- r13a 3y agoAs explained in the etymology section of the dedicated Wikipedia page, the name of the sect was "Asāsiyyūn" (Meaning something like "men of principles). The name Hashishin (Hashish smokers) was a derogative misnomer by their enemies. The whole story and legends related to it captured the imagination of modern scholars with an orientalist biais. Among today scholars the question is settled: while the sect and assassinations are historical facts, they are surrounded by lots of myths.